1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to caster brake assemblies, and more particularly, to caster brake assemblies for use with shopping carts, strollers, moving carts, furniture and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Casters serve a useful purpose by allowing a person to move an item, such as a piece of furniture or a shopping cart, relatively easily. However, one of the challenges associated with the use of casters is that the caster wheels tend to move when the user does not want them to move, and additionally, the caster wheels may be locked when the user wants them to freely rotate.
In an effort to address this challenge, various types of caster brakes have been developed. The different brake assemblies generally require that a user push down on a foot pedal or push button to engage the brake with the caster wheel. However, the assemblies differ in the way in which a user disengages the brake from the caster wheel. With several of the assemblies, the user must carefully place a toe underneath the foot pedal and lift up on the pedal, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,096,229, 2,900,659 and 3,493,085. Although this method of brake release works, it may be somewhat awkward for the user and is likely to scuff the top of the user's shoe. Therefore, other brake assemblies have been developed which allow a user to disengage the caster brake by pushing down on a portion of the foot pedal, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,772,733, 4,035,864, 4,835,815, 5,042,622 and 5,236,066.
Yet another method of brake release is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,534 to Goff. With the '534 device, the user may disengage the brake either by placing a toe underneath the foot pedal and lifting up or by pulling back on the shopping cart or other item attached to the caster. The '534 device includes a connecting arm for connecting the brake to the rear leg of a shopping cart, and a split yoke which is pivotably connected to the connecting arm. The split yoke has two braking flanges which engage and apply frictional force to the sides of the tire to prevent the tire from rotating, and further includes an actuator for applying force to the split yoke to engage the braking flanges with the sides of the tire. The shopping cart brake also includes an adjustable tension bar and a pop-up spring. The tension bar is disposed between the braking flanges and may be used to increase or decrease the frictional force which the braking flanges apply to the tire. The pop-up spring is located between the connecting arm and the split yoke, and biases the split yoke to a normal position when the brake is disengaged. The shopping cart brake is engaged by exerting a downward force on the split yoke actuator with the foot and may be disengaged either by moving the cart in a rearward direction or by placing a toe underneath the split yoke actuator and lifting up on the actuator.
Although the '534 shopping cart brake taught by Goff allows a user to disengage the brake by pulling back on the shopping cart, should the user wish to disengage the brake using a foot, the only way to do so is by placing a toe underneath the split yoke actuator and lifting up on the actuator, which may be somewhat awkward.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a shopping cart brake assembly in which the user has the option to disengage tile brake either by pulling back on the shopping cart or by pushing down on a foot pedal.